Tips for growing orchids outside (or inside) in Florida?

[Karkadann]

After nearly 20 years of suffering through bitter, never ending Minnesota winters, my fiance and I are finally..FINALLY moving to Florida.

We're stuck here through winter, but plan on relocating to the Sarasota area by summer of 2015. I've had great success growing my many orchids and other plants both indoors and outside when it's warm enough, but have a few questions as the climate were moving to will be very different. I have read as many threads as I could find on growing orchids in Florida, but was looking for more actual tips or recommendations.

Humidity - in MN, the long winters make the indoor air so dry that I have to mist all of my plants at least twice daily, and many of them need almost daily watering. During the summer, it tends to be very hot and humid, so my outdoor plants are watered daily or every other day, and the indoor ones are watered when they get almost dry.
All of my orchids are potted in a bark mix, except my paphs, which are in a finer mix of bark and moss.

What will I need to do differently in order to transition to growing these guys in Florida? Will the bark pose a risk to the plants in a warmer, more humid environment?
Will it attract bugs if I keep some plants inside all year?

Sunlight - we don't get much sun here, so most of my plants are grown under supplemental lighting during winter before going outside when it gets warm. Most of my orchids stay inside, either in the orchid tank or an east facing windowsill.
I'd like to try more outdoor growing with my more heat tolerant orchids, so what kind of set up would I need?

Any other tips or suggestions are very welcome.

[tucker85]

You asked what you'll need to do differently in Florida. The answer is, almost everything. The author, Dr. Martin Motes is famous for saying "we don't care how you grow orchids anywhere else, it's different in Florida". In Florida we grow orchids outdoors year round except for bringing some orchids indoors during occasional cold fronts. During the summer it can often rain every day so orchids need to be grown in a way that they dry very quickly. That means mounted or grown in open wood baskets. The good news is that there are thousands of orchid growers in Florida. Here in Fort Lauderdale I'm within a one hour drive of about 15 major commercial orchid growers. The orchid society I belong to is very active and has over 250 members. Here's my advice, first, buy the book 'Florida Orchid Growing' by Martin Motes. Second, join a local orchid society when you get to Florida. Third, once you move to Florida and show Florida as your residence on Facebook, you can join a Facebook group, for Florida residents only, called Florida Orchid Growing. There are about 1500 members and many of them have two or three thousand orchids. You'll love growing orchids down here but there's going to be a learning curve for you. Good luck. Enjoy.

---------- Post added at 11:53 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:48 AM ----------

I don't think it will be helpful for me to answer specific questions before you make your move because you'll probably forget the answer. But if you want some specific answers, go ahead and ask me. I will say that most Florida growers agree that you can't grow orchids in bark, in Florida.

[Karkadann]

Thanks for all of the great input! I'll order ' Florida orchid growing' and start getting ready to change things up for when I move.

Will hydroton or lava rock work as a suitable growing medium for phals, catts or oncidiums? I do want to keep a few orchids indoors as I really enjoy having plants all over.. Would either substrate present a benefit or challenge in either indoor or outdoor growing?

[tucker85]

Here are a few pictures of some of my plants that I grow outdoors, in wood baskets, with just a few big chunks of cork or tree fern fiber in the basket.

[Karkadann]

Beautiful!! Looks like they're very happy, healthy plants! I'll try that for my soon to be outdoor 'chids. Thanks for the pics. It's a huge help as far as providing a clear idea of what to do.

[tucker85]

Originally Posted by Karkadann

Thanks for all of the great input! I'll order ' Florida orchid growing' and start getting ready to change things up for when I move.

Will hydroton or lava rock work as a suitable growing medium for phals, catts or oncidiums? I do want to keep a few orchids indoors as I really enjoy having plants all over.. Would either substrate present a benefit or challenge in either indoor or outdoor growing?

Lots of growers use Hydroton or lava rock for cattleyas. I know one excellent, award winning grower who only uses Hydroton. You should definitely grow your cattleyas outdoors. You'll find that phalaenopsis are tricky to grow down here. Outdoors they can be grown mounted but most people grow them in pots under a covered roof so the daily rains don't rot them. Of course you can grow them indoors also. I've had good luck with a mixture of coconut husk chips and Hydroton for phals. but I'm sure there's other ways to grow them. Oncidiums are tricky also. They like lots of water but they need their roots to dry quickly. My best results have been to mount ondidiums on a tree fern totem or to grow them in an open wood basket with large chunks of tree fern fiber in the basket. They need to be watered about three times a week when grown that way.

[rcb]

karkadann - I currently live about 20 miles south of Sarasota, near the coast, and to add to Tuckers comments. When you move down, join your local society. There are quite a few societies along the West Coast here, many people belong to more than one as they are not that far apart.

One thing to consider though - please don't consider "Florida" as a growing area. Although summers are very similar throughout the state (hot and rainy) winters are very different. For example, winter climate in S. Florida is different than winter climate on the West Coast.

Tucker's comments, concerning growing outside unprotected I cant second enough, due to the rains in summer. I personally do not use any type of bark to pot in, only use inorganic materials like lava rock, LECA and Turface. But many (most?) growers along the West Coast here do use and prefer bark.

One issue using these types of media though, is you do have to be a bit more careful about fertilizing.

But I think overall you will love it down here. IMO, it's the 2nd prettiest area in Florida. Well maybe the third

Happy New Year!

[tucker85]

Originally Posted by rcb

IMO, it's the 2nd prettiest area in Florida. Well maybe the third

Happy New Year!

rcb - What do you consider the 1st and maybe 2nd prettiest areas?

[Karkadann]

Rcb - thanks for the advice! I have noticed that there are many climatic variations throughout the (relatively few) areas of FL that I am familiar with. We chose Sarasota because we have family that lives there, and even during the middle of summer it's a beautiful place. We can't wait to move.

Your response, as well as Tucker's, have been a great help so far in getting an idea of what I'll have to do to keep my orchids growing well. One concern I have is regarding my bulbophyllums. Those are currently potted in 100% sphagnum moss. They're thriving currently, but I'm guessing they'll need to be potted into something else that holds less water. Would any of the inorganic substrates mentioned above work?

[tucker85]

Originally Posted by Karkadann

Rcb - thanks for the advice! I have noticed that there are many climatic variations throughout the (relatively few) areas of FL that I am familiar with. We chose Sarasota because we have family that lives there, and even during the middle of summer it's a beautiful place. We can't wait to move.

Your response, as well as Tucker's, have been a great help so far in getting an idea of what I'll have to do to keep my orchids growing well. One concern I have is regarding my bulbophyllums. Those are currently potted in 100% sphagnum moss. They're thriving currently, but I'm guessing they'll need to be potted into something else that holds less water. Would any of the inorganic substrates mentioned above work?

I don't grow bulbophyllums but I just wanted to mention that Bill Thoms is one of the best bulbophyllum growers in the country. He wrote a book called "Bulbophyllum: The Incomplete Guide" which is informative and also funny. Bill has more AOS culture awards than any other individual. His nursery is just outside Tampa, so it will be within an hour or two from where you'll be living. Bill often gives presentations to orchid societies in that area. He'd be pretty easy to locate once you get to Florida.